Vice President Mike Pence reportedly plans to attend the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, despite rumors that President Donald Trump will boycott the ceremony.
Three sources close to the vice president said his appearance at the Jan. 20 inauguration was “likely,” according to Politico.
Pence’s decision, according to sources, was reportedly made easier after Trump publicly demanded that he overturn the Electoral College results, an action that was not within his constitutional authority.
Pence, who has long been one of Trump’s closest allies, was reportedly incensed with him for such rhetoric.
“It was a much more difficult decision days ago, but less difficult now,” a person close to Pence said.
As The Daily Wire reported:
Vice President Mike Pence is furious with President Donald Trump over the way the president has handled his loss to President-elect Joe Biden, according to a Republican senator.
Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma had a “long conversation” with Pence on Tuesday night, a day before pro-Trump rioters broke into the Capitol in Washington, D.C., in protest of the election results. Inhofe relayed that Pence felt a sense of betrayal from the president after he attacked him over the Electoral College certification.
“I’ve known Mike Pence forever,” Inhofe said Tuesday night, according to Tulsa World. “I’ve never seen Pence as angry as he was today.”
“I had a long conversation with him,” Inhofe added. “He said, ‘After all the things I’ve done for [Trump].’”
Pence’s anger at the president is likely to not have abated on Wednesday after the president ramped up pressure on Pence calling for him to refuse to certify Biden’s election victory. Congress certified Biden’s victory early Thursday morning with Pence presiding over the joint session.
On Wednesday evening, Inhofe said that Trump should have done more after rioting among his supporters broke out in the Capitol. Four people died in the riot, including one woman who was shot by police.
“This was really a riot. He should have shown more disdain for the rioters. I don’t want to say he should have apologized — that’s not exactly accurate — but he should have expressed more disdain,” Inhofe said.
It remains uncertain whether Trump will attend Biden’s inauguration, whose electoral victory Trump has repeatedly described as illegitimate. Rumors have swirled that Trump might choose to visit foreign soil instead of attending his successor’s inauguration.
The Daily Wire reported:
A new report out of the United Kingdom says President Donald Trump may be planning to take a trip to Scotland on Jan. 19, one day before Democrat Joe Biden is set to be inaugurated as president.
“Prestwick airport has been told to expect the arrival of a US military Boeing 757 aircraft, that is occasionally used by Trump, on January 19 – the day before his Democratic rival takes charge at the White House,” The Sunday Post reported.